Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo took third position on the podium today in the Grand Prix of The Americas, his 100th career podium finish. A less than perfect start from third on the front row saw the current World Champion lose position approaching turn one but he was quick to come back as the race settled in. Lorenzo was able to maintain third position to the finish line, holding distance to fellow Yamaha Cal Crutchlow behind in fourth and close down the gap to the front to just over three seconds at the flag. The result delivers an incredible 100th podium finish for the four-time World Champion ten years after he scored his first with victory in Brazil in 2003. The sixteen points brings his 2013 season total to 41 after two races, joint with Championship leader Marc Marquez and places him in second in the standings.

Having started form eighth on the grid, Valentino Rossi got involved in an early fight with the mid pack, including riders Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl, eventually bettering the German rider to move up and hold on to sixth place to the finish line. Rossi had to contend with a vibration from his front brakes during the race and had battled all weekend to find the best setup for the demanding circuit. The result places him in fourth place in the overall standings with 30 points, 3 behind Dani Pedrosa in third.

Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd

“Yesterday we were so far from Marc and Dani but this morning in the warm up we found something. The hairpin corners we normally take in first gear we made in second so it improved a lot the feeling and the acceleration, but it was not enough. Just a little bit more, maybe two tenths quicker and I could have fought with Dani and Marc. Today third position was the best we could do. I want to congratulate Cal who didn’t give up until the end and also Marc, he’s the youngest rider in history to win a Grand Prix; he is a phenomenon. It’s an important day for me; I never thought to get this unbelievable number of podiums so today is a magic day. Time flies very quickly, it seems like it was just yesterday that I got my first victory, which was my first podium in Brazil in 2003 ten years ago and now today my 100th.”

Valentino Rossi, 6th

“This is a difficult track for us. We expected to do better, but I had a lot of problems in the race because I had a problem with the brakes. I had a vibration in braking because I lost one part of a disc so this didn’t help. We knew that we had to defend here; we know that when we cannot attack we need to try and arrive in the top five but today it was sixth. The balance of the first two races is positive and we arrive in Jerez optimistic for the next few races as the tracks are better for us.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager

“This was our target, to be on the podium. To be honest to be just three seconds behind the lead is very nice. When you are ten seconds behind and you finish third you are quite happy but if it’s just three seconds you think you might have been able to get a bit more. Apart from that we must be very pleased with the result, to be on the podium was our target and that will continue to be our target for the next couple of races. We struggled a lot here and everyone could see our competitors were strong; we had it the other way round in Qatar. Let’s hope at the end of the season that the balance is in our favour.”

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director

“We knew since the beginning that this race was going to be really tough for us but I think the team has worked really well and we could manage it in the best way. To finish third, with only three second gap to the leader is for me really good. Jorge did a really intelligent race without a lot of risk. Now we are going back to Europe where the circuits are more suitable to our M1. Vale’s team worked really hard to try and fit the bike to his riding style; they improved the bike through each practice. Unfortunately we made another step from the warm up to the race that didn’t work as we expected. He also had a vibration on the front from his brakes. I think we are leaving Austin in a really good shape and we are really looking forward to the Jerez race.”

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2013 MotoGP United States

Circuit of The Americas 21/04/2013

race I
1 Marc Marquez Honda ESP 43’42.123
2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0’01.534
3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 0’03.381
4 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0’06.616
5 Stefan Bradl Honda GER 0’12.674
6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0’16.615
7 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati ITA 0’22.374
8 Alvaro Bautista Honda ESP 0’22.854
9 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0’33.773
10 Andrea Iannone Ducati ITA 0’42.112
11 Aleix Espargaro ART ESP 0’48.837
12 Bradley Smith Yamaha GBR 0’50.705
13 Ben Spies Ducati USA 1’14.132
14 Randy De Puniet ART FRA 1’15.651
15 Yonny Hernandez ART COL 1’19.591

MotoGP World Standing

Rider Standings After Race 2 of 18

1. Marc Marquez Honda ESP 41
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 41
3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 33
4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 30
5. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 24
6. Andrea Dovizioso Ducati ITA 18
7. Alvaro Bautista Honda ESP 18
8. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 15
9. Andrea Iannone Ducati ITA 13
10. Stefan Bradl Honda GER 11
11. Aleix Espargaro ART ESP 10
12. Ben Spies Ducati USA 9
13. Randy De Puniet ART FRA 6
14. Bradley Smith Yamaha GBR 4
15. Yonny Hernandez ART COL 3
16. Hector Barbera FTR ESP 3

Circuit Length:
5513

Weather:
Sunny

Fastest Lap Ever:
2’03.021
(Marc Marquez, 21-4-2013 11:58:45)

Manufacturer Standings

21/04/2013

1 Honda 41
2 Yamaha 41
3 Ducati 18
4 ART 10
5 FTR 3

Team Standings

21/04/2013

1. Repsol Honda Team 74
2. Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team 71
3. Ducati Team 33
4. Monster Yamaha Tech3 28
5. Pramac Racing Team 22
6. Go&Fun Honda Gresini 18
7. Power Electronics Aspar 16
8. LCR Honda MotoGP 11
9. Avintia Blusens 4
10. Paul Bird Motorsport 3

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